Art House Cafe

Went here for lunch today, it was nice so even made a reservation. There was no process to check the reservation or preference on seating having made one. The service was extremely slow, and forgetful. It took nearly one hour to get two entrée salads out. We came for the steelhead but were told they were out of it. We then watched no less than 5 – 6 orders go out to tables some of which had ordered after us. They were also completely out of soup.
Service was bad and unconcerned with how poorly they were doing.

When a friend with a very discerning palette dropped in from Honolulu, we felt the Art House calling us, and we were not disappointed. Our schedules forced an earlier start time, so we had our choice of seating and picked the booth-​table to the right of the entrance. Our waitperson arrived promptly with menus, and we could read the specials on the chalkboard to the right of the landing that leads to the studio.
The menu has been somewhat reduced since our last visit a couple of years ago, but they still have their small plates and remarkably inventive pizza combinations, so we decided to share orders. We started with the Goat Cheese Crostini, the cheese with its overtones of pimento and capers melting in our mouths. The large salads that my companions ordered were a meal in themselves, and we barely had room for the wild mushroom pizza. They offer a small but fine selection of different wines and local brews in the bottle.
The server was prompt and efficient, and we had a running conversation as each course arrived.
I would have to say that the Art House has maintained its quality, but with so many great restaurants opening in Tacoma in the last year, the bar has been raised. I would suggest broadening their wine and beer selection to include more beers on draft, and for this price, there are a number of tasty alternatives.

We went to this place after looking online for a breakfast place to start off our celebration of our 2^nd anniversary.
Ohmygosh.
I don’t wanna feel like I am exaggerating but this was honestly the best place that I have been for breakfast in a very very long time. Definitely our new favorite spot for breakfast. Worth the drive for us 20+ minutes and worth the price. I had the Eggs Benedict, my husband had the breakfast pizza (which even he couldn’t finish! even though it was YUMM) and then we shared the greek yogurt bowl (which was super super yummy!!).
I actually did a little dance in my chair when I first tried the food! Which my husband pointed out because I didn’t even notice.
Definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a good breakfast place that serves amazing food and coffee. Also, we sat a bit towards the back and the chef checked up on us a few times to ask if we were enjoying ourselves. We really loved that!
No doubt about it– coming back here for sure.

I stopped by this place after dropping off some denim at my tailor across the street a couple months back and have been meaning to write a review. I’m so glad I did because I come in every other Tuesday after my haircuts for brunch. Such a cool little spot with an awesome menu. I love the stuffed biscuits, rosemary potatoes, and bacon! The service is great and attentive. I love how the chefs bring the plates out to the tables.
Only downfall about the spot and really has nothing to do with the restaurant itself is the parking situation. It’s kind of hard to find a spot during regular business hours. Aside from that, it’s perfect little gem!

The food and energy of restaurant is great. I’ve had both dinner and appetizers durning wine and paint classes. The only reason I don’t give the restaurant 5 stars is the speed of service. It took a very long time to get our pizza while in the restaurant.

My go-​to show off spot for friends visiting, or a cutesy date with boyfriend, or just to feel good time: D
When people ask for a nice spot to sit and eat, art house is always in my top 5!
Very clean, pristine atmosphere, decked out w local art. Outside seating for nice weather.
Food Menu is upscale, I’ve tried quit of few diff plates, and all have been delicious! My fav would probably be the breakfast pizza! healthy portion sizes.
Oh and the coffee is yuuuumy! Probably my other favorite! I alway take it black there, No need to add, it’s that good!
On weekends u can find a half hour wait, no call reservations I believe?
My least favorite would have to be the potatoes on the side, hit or miss with those. Overall a 5star! Lovely addition to Tacoma!

Great dinner and excellent service tonight. The pizza was yummy and wine was good. Great crust, good toppings and nice portion sizes. I’m happy and ready to go home and pat my tummy.

I have to, happily, say I’ve been back to AHC a few times and it’s really become awesome! Great service, better layout of tables, and more veggie options.
Most recently my husband and I split the veggie omelet and a fried egg sandwich… yum!
Good coffee and fresh OJ.
Can’t wait to try them for dinner!

This restaurant was better than I thought it would be. I met a friend for breakfast on her recommendation, and I was surprised to find a wide selection of entrées were available at what i assumed was just a café. I I chose an omelette with mushrooms and cheese that came with rosemary potatoes and and arugula salad. The salad was very fresh though mainly just greens. The omelette and potatoes were tasty, although I was slightly annoyed because I ordered my omelette with egg whites and it came as a regular omelet. Also, despite it being a weekday morning, I had to seek out the server to pay the bill. I was not notably impressed, but it was nice to find a breakfast menu with fresh vegetables and selections beyond the usual diner fare. Overall, the ambiance and food were good.

Lovely setting and atmosphere. Chillout music was tasteful and enjoyable.
I ordered a burger, which was delicious, although they didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked and it came more well-​done than I would have liked. I didn’t care for the mustard sauce on my salad, it was too sharp for my taste. Service was okay, not superb.
They gave my brother a discount on his lunch when he had to change his order after they realized that they ran out of soup. Nice of them.
It wan an enjoyable meal.

I’ve always passed by this area, but never knew this place existed. My boyfriend and I just stopped by for a drink and a small bite to eat before we had a show to go to.
He ordered an Old Fashion and I ordered a dirty martini… We also ordered their bread that came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Kind of sucks that this place… Or rather whoever made our drinks clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing. My boyfriend took one sip of his Old Fashion and we left it be. The bread was gross… I think we got 5 – 6 pieces and it was like $ 6?
The ambiance of this place is great. I loved the feel of this restaurant… But everything seemed overpriced and not worth it.

Came here looking for any place that was open on a Sunday and not packed to brim with Seahawk jerseys. Without reading much about it, we stopped by and were pleasantly surprised. The décor is tasteful and clean, with local art hung on the walls available for purchase.
We had to wait for maybe five minutes for a table to open up, but we were sat by the windows with what tasted like cucumber water already filled. Our service was prompt and our server Kanani gave us great suggestions and direction. Another server made us our drinks, a delicious and spicy Bloody Mary and a super cute winter themed hot chocolate. My husband got the quinoa cake, which while scrumptious and well-​seasoned, wasn’t too filling. On the other hand, I got the Classic stuffed biscuits, which were fluffy and the sausage gravy was out of this world, was incredibly filling. I had to box up half of it.
Between the two of us leaving full and satisfied, with two big breakfast and three drinks, it came out to be about forty bucks, sans tip. A little high for breakfast, but if you keep your receipt, you can get 15% off your next dinner meal, a deal which we’ll definitely take up.

I am so glad I went here! Had no idea about this place until a friend suggested we do dinner here last Friday night. The café is in a renovated building attached to an art class gallery and is in a part of Tacoma I wouldn’t think to visit for dinner or drinks. It opens at 5pm for dinner, we parked and waited as we went here straight after work. It’s a cozy, cute place! We sat at a booth by the window cuz the fireplace table became occupied as we walked in. Drinks were not bad, but not the best. We both had a lavender lemon drop. Appetizer with baked Brie and apples was AMAZING! For dinner we had a baked mac and cheese with sausage which was delish, rich and filling! And a beef tenderloin — I didn’t try it but my friend loved it. But the best part of it all would have to be the customer service! Laura, our waitress was absolutely incredible. She was super sweet, friendly, answering questions and describing the entrees and appetizers at our request. And when she saw I had barely touched my drink she attentively came over and offered to replace it with another, on the house of course. Although I declined b/​c it wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t what I expected so I figured I’ll just stick with it since I was so focused on the food and our conversation with my friend anyway. But her willingness to make sure we were super happy with everything and her kind and attentive but not over bearing demeanor just made me so glad to be there that night instead of joeys, el gaucho or wherever we usually frequent for our bi weekly catch up dinners. This my friends is excellent customer service — when you come for the food but you stay for the service that comes with it and don’t want to leave at the end of the evening. Laura — you’re a gem of an asset to this café and we will be back here just for you. Loves it!!!

I went for Saturday morning breakfast. The staff was delightful, checking in at just the right times to make sure everything was great. I had the Dutch baby for breakfast, it was light and tender with a lovely crisp crust. When I requested maple syrup, they weren’t stingy. Their regular coffee is served in giant cups, it got my morning started off right!
I’m looking forward to trying them again for breakfast, it was hard to pick only one thing from their menu.

I had taken two bites off my plate when I found bugs in my food. We told the waitress, she removed my plate and no discount or percentage off was offered.
This experience ruined our morning.
I will not recommend this restaurant to my friends or family again.

There baked Brie is amazing and it keeps me coming back! But the real shocker was the poke. I was born and raised in Hawaii and I have learned not to get my hopes up flavor wise when I see poke on the menu. It is fancier than poke back home, but the flavor is the closest thing that I have found so far!
The service is usually pretty friendly and relaxed, which I enjoy, but a couple of times I have had to wait forever to get a servers attention to refill our waters, or order something else. This has happened even when it is not a busy day which can be frustrating. Although, my good experiences with the staff far outweigh the bad.
Last time I was in I tried the banana pudding dessert which was delicious. I wouldn’t say it was anything special, but the presentation was very cute, and my friend and I stayed longer just so we could finish it!
Can’t wait to try the pizza!

I really want to love this place but each visit leaves me disappointed on some level.
Great ambiance and the lovely menu are a much needed addition to the growing Stadium district scene. That being said consistency is an issue and service is always friendly but far from efficient.
Several visits now have left us with a culmination of silly issues.
Grossly undercooked French toast, paired with overcooked biscuits on the other dishes.
Forgotten reservation and chilly outdoor seating instead with the nuisance of actually hitting us while opening and closing the sliding door because those inside were cold. When we offered to stand they insisted there was no need but continued to bump us with the door with each check up.
Slow service that borders on being clearly overwhelmed.
Lots of unrealized potential. May try again eventually.

I just discovered this quaint little place recently! The place is kind of not that little either because it houses what looks like a store that sells art and has art classes upstairs as well.
The food is pretty good! Extremely fresh and carefully made which I can’t usually say that about many places here in town. The dishes are tapas oriented so ordering more than one thing is advisable if you are going in here hungry.
We had a brie cheese plate which was awesome! In addition to that I had the Grilled Turkey and Ciabatta sandwich which was also fantastic which was accompanied by a wonderfully fresh and flavorful salad.
For dessert we shared a well crafted apple pie which was great!
We thought the service was fine but the wait staff felt like the food coming out of the kitchen was too slow so we got a few bucks knocked off our bill. Very nice having staff several steps ahead of you before you are even aware an issue is developing!

I really wanted to like Art House. I really, really did. Unfortunately, I left all three times disappointed. The service has never been great– never horrible– but never great and sometimes just on the cusp of being bad because of the extreme slowness and forgetfulness. I’ve spent time as a server– I get that these things happen: but in a nearly empty restaurant? I don’t understand.
The food itself is nothing to write home about and I am a massive purveyor of brunch and breakfast. The items look fantastic on the menu, but once they’re in your mouth I’m always wondering what made me want to give it another shot.

Went here on a whim for breakfast since I’ve been curious about it for a while.
Great little classy yet cozy and casual joint. Greeted with super smiling staff who were all very helpful and informative. Service outstanding! Love the décor casual elegance and yes you can be both. Prices reasonable enough but not cheap.
Menu is clear and easy to understand. I recommend the coffee which of course is provided by the local roaster ‘Stumptown’, and I love the cups the use to serve it in.
I asked the waitress where they get their food and had wondered if it was local or not. She confirmed the food served is local/​regional as much fresh and organic as possible. Gotta support these folks for that very reason.
Reservation wasn’t necessary, at least not for me (service for 1). Parking can be a challenge in the Stadium District, but just keep going around and around. Someone will eventually leave.
Truly a nice little place. If you are there on a warm weather day, they open the huge wall size glass doors to let the outside in… or inside out however you want to interpret that. Outdoor seating is available on those days, but that space isn’t huge. AHC opened about a year ago, so it still has a new feel about it. Bring your bff/​gf/​bf/​family or whoever. It’s good for all! Feel free to see the photos I posted during my visit. :)